Shotgun recommendations/secondhand issues.

Not really my sorta thing (see the main firearms thread if you wanna see my AK74 styled Izhmash109/Saiga-12), but if you are in Houston there are several good shops for sporting guns you could browse and ask advice from (though you may end-up ordering online for price - gunrboker and TexasGunTrader). Also, I think local member Shikar is a sport shotgun shooter, so he may chime-in here.

Mrs. Thomas has a Beretta semi-auto specifically for skeet, she likes it well enough but hasn't put enough use on it for me to be able to comment on its reliability. Speaking of, I probably ought to take it out and shoot it again soon.

I'd go for a good used O/U. You ought to be able to pick up something pretty nice for $1K.

Also, the price of excellent old-time repeating shotguns with great quality and workmanship like the Winchester Model 12 or the Browning Auto-5 has not gone up too much. I think there are some great bargains to be had with these guns.

I'd keep an eye on the weatherby SxS or O/U's. They're what I'd buy if I had the coin. A good used one should be somewhat within your range. This one should be somewhere around 1k used. Maybe a touch more, but you can always haggle.

http://www.weatherby.com/product/sho...n_ditalia_i_ou

I have nothing to add, other than that I'm incredibly amused that this thread is only a few away from:
http://www.styleforum.net/showthread.php?t=229052

Benelli M4 - Good enough for the USMC, good enough for me (although it's not an O/U and is slightly more than your budget (1.4k - 1.7k)) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benelli_M4

I shoot a lot of clay with a Beretta O/U and am really pleased with it. Buying a second hand gun is a cost effective way to go. One thing to remember is that while Berettas cost more than the cheap brands of shotguns, they hold their value better so it will be worth more when you want to sell it.

Browning used to make a great over and under shotgun for skeet or trap or hunting.

I shoot a lot of trap and skeet and unless you get REALLY lucky you will not buy a decent O/U for trap & skeet for $1K. You might find a decent hunting O/U for $1K but it will be fixed choke and probably have a shorter barrel. This limits you if you're trying to shoot trap and Skeet.

Trap you normally want a full choke where as skeet you want a skeet choke or a modified at best.

Yildez may be decent for the occasional hunting trip, but I don't think so, but it will not last to repeted rounds of trap or skeet. Try shooting 3 or 4 rounds of trap or skeet and you will come out black and blue because the Yildez is a field gun and doesn't weigh enough. I don't think much of any of the "cheap" O/U's out there.

Honestly I would recomend a Beretta 391. That gun will do EVERYTHING you want it to do, Trap, Skeet, & hunting and can be found in your price range.

I know how you feel about wanting the O/U but a Bettera 391 shotgun will do everything you need/want until you can afford to buy a decent O/U. Plus it's a quality shotgun that you will have no problems passing down to your kids one day. I've been wanting to buy one myself just haven't gotten around to doing it.

You can get a remmington 870 pump gun for the duck hunting. Remington 1100 is a decent idea for what you want as well. Club I shoot at the best guy there shoots a 1100 trap model and has many thousands of rounds through his gun.

I highly recommend the Ruger Red Label OU for a good all-around shotgun. Get a 20 gauge, which is all you need for pheasant, especially if you are shooting high brass. It will work well for skeet/trap too. I have shot OU and side-by-side shotguns my whole life. Two years ago I bought a Ruger gold label side-by-side because I didn't want to ding up my Merkel. That particular Ruger only comes in a 12 gauge and I really wish it was a 20 gauge, because a 12 gauge is a bit much when a covey of quail comes up in the middle of a pheasant hunt. Also, I frankly think the over and unders are easier to shoot accurately because you are looking down a single barrel. Make sure you clean you gun every few times out and always wipe it down with a good cloth so you don't get finger prints (rust) messing up the bluing. My two cents.

Also, get at 28" barrel; you'll regret it if you buy a 26" barrel. These things list for about $2K but if you are patient you can find one for around $1K particularly in the local newspaper. I don't like those gun shows much. It's hard to get a good deal from someone who is a bigger gun nut than you.

I would suggest looking for a used gun. If you live in Houston, go to Collector's Firearms. They have a huge selection of used guns. As an alternative, I'd try the auction site, gunbroker.com. You'll need to have whatever you buy shipped to a dealer with a federal firearms license, but the transfer will usually cost you less than $50, and gunbroker has a comprehensive list of FFL dealers in your area. There's a shit ton of used Beretta O/U on there, many below, or right around $1K. As others have suggested, look for one with choke tubes. Incidentally, I have a Beretta 391 and it's a good gun, though I prefer Benelli for autoloaders.

I highly agree with this rec, as much as I love the fine engraving on high end O/Us, I love the cleanliness of the Red Label's lines (not much enthusiasm for the few engraved models they made). I have been shooting my Red Label for...my, I'm surprised how long. I have the 12 gauge 30" Sporting Clays model with the Briley interchangeable chokes, separated tubes, and heavy duty recoil pad. I admit, 30" tubes are a little long for hunting, and a twelve is a little more than you need for pheasant (I shot a 20ga for pheasant as a rule), but neither limitation is that much of a big deal -- you just shoot lighter loads when you are hunting. And if you are used to shooting the gun for trap, skeet, or sporting clays, you'll likely do well in the field also. Skeet shooters tend to go with a slightly shorter barrel (26 & 28) than trap shooter (28 & 30), but there are no hard rules -- my father shoots a 32" O/U for trap. But while you can shoot a 20 gauge for both skeet and trap, its far more accepted for skeet, whereas a 20 ga is an oddity on the trap line. IOW, any 12 gauge Red Label with 28" or 30" barrels would serve you very well. As has been mentioned, Beretta makes excellent O/Us, and the Browning "Special" series Citoris are also very nice (eg. the "special trap," "special skeet,' and "special sporting" models), but both of those are going to be a tad pricier. Mine was around $1200 new, used price ranges seem to be around that, oddly enough, on Gun Broker right now. Prices have really spiked on everything in the last few years. Nothing wrong with buying used, but shop around and handle a number of O/Us to learn what to look for. You can tell (to some degree, and with experience) the amount of use by how "slack" the action is when you break the gun (they tend to start tight and wear in, but different models "feel" different, so only compare the same model), wear on the barrel selector lever and the front of the trigger guard (where a shooter should be resting his finger prior to mounting). Of course, having a bore light and checking the bore for dents/pitting/anything out of the ordinary is mandatory. Also run your fingers down the length of each barrel feeling for any trace of bulges -- there should never be any. ~ H

While this is a great gun, it's a poor choice for hunting and trap shooting. As others have mentioned, something like a classic O/U would be lots of fun, and very sporting for game when compared to other actions.